Connecting Skies • Bridging Continents
Leonardo has announced two artificial intelligence initiatives in parallel: its US-listed subsidiary Leonardo DRS has agreed to acquire mission software specialist Raft for $450 million in cash, while the parent group has launched Digital Horizon, a Microsoft 365 and Copilot deployment reaching approximately 50,000 employees — one acquiring AI capability to sell outward, the other […]
Boeing delivered 171 commercial aircraft in the second quarter, up 14% year-on-year and its highest quarterly total since 2018, while beginning the transition to a 47-per-month 737 production rate and activating low-rate initial production on the 737 North Line. Certification flight testing has been completed on the 737-7 and 737-10, and the 777X has entered
Leonardo has completed its transition to the revised ISO 37001:2025 anti-bribery management standard following the successful conclusion of its annual surveillance audit, with the certification body confirming the effectiveness of the group’s controls and its capacity to address emerging risk areas including climate change and conflicts of interest. CERTIFICATION MAINTAINED AND UPGRADED TO THE REVISED
ACC Aviation has completed an independent aircraft asset monitoring assignment for an international aviation finance institution, providing continuous technical oversight across a portfolio of next-generation commercial aircraft — an engagement model that reflects lenders’ growing emphasis on protecting collateral value throughout the financing term rather than assessing it only at the point of transaction. CONTINUOUS
Textron has reported second quarter 2026 revenues of $3.8 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share, with revenue growth across all four manufacturing segments — while disclosing that its full-year outlook depends on additional US government funding for the MV-75 Cheyenne programme, and confirming it has initiated a sale process for its Industrial segment.
Boeing and General Motors have signed a definitive agreement to sell HRL Laboratories — the Malibu-based research institution they have jointly owned since its founding lineage began in 1948 — to IBM, which intends to use HRL’s silicon-spin qubit expertise to accelerate its quantum computing roadmap, with both sellers retaining partnership arrangements on quantum applications.
FL Technics has appointed Saulius Bajarunas as Chief Executive Officer effective 1 September 2026, elevating an executive who has played a central role in the MRO provider’s international expansion, as outgoing CEO Zilvinas Lapinskas assumes the top role at parent company Avia Solutions Group. INTERNAL SUCCESSION FOLLOWS PARENT COMPANY LEADERSHIP CHANGE FL Technics, the
IATA’s Board of Directors has appointed Saadia Zahidi, a Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board of the World Economic Forum, as the ninth Director General of the International Air Transport Association, effective 1 November 2026 — making her the first woman appointed to lead the association since its founding in 1945. A HISTORIC
Tecnam has used EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 to make two significant announcements: the unveiling of the Rivale — its first entirely new personal aircraft programme, featuring the Continental CD-300-Series V6 engine and the world-premiere Garmin G2000 Prime avionics suite — and a fleet transition by US-based Vectored Approach Flight Academy to an all-Tecnam operation. THE
The expectation of onboard high-speed internet connectivity is migrating from premium differentiator to standard passenger requirement in private aviation, driven by Starlink’s rapid market penetration and the growing habit of continuous connectivity among business travellers — though adoption across the full private aircraft fleet remains uneven. CONNECTIVITY ENTERS THE AIRCRAFT SELECTION CONVERSATION High-speed onboard